How to Find Tax Assesments for Property

Property tax information is public record, which means any individual can look up commercial or personal property tax assessments for free. This gives real estate agents and buyers information required to process loans, and allows owners an opportunity to retrieve important information for tax deductions or assessment protests.

Go to the county assessor website for the property’s location. In most cases, the county assessor’s office proposes and assesses the taxable value for all real property in its county.

Search for a link to find property tax assessments. This may be under titles such as “Real Property Search,” “Property Tax” or “View Property Tax Bill.” If you don’t see a link for something related to property tax assessments on the home page, look under the “Online Services” menu. Most counties permit users to locate property information online, but some rural areas may not. If online searching isn’t available on the website, call the assessor’s office and ask how you can view property tax information.

Select a search method. You can search a property by owner name, account number or address. Enter the information for your search based on your selection.

Submit your query. Your results show the assessed and actual values of the property. Assessed values are much lower than the actual, or market value of the home. The assessed value is the amount used to calculate taxes. The annual tax due on the property is shown, and you may see a breakdown of how the tax is calculated. Each county individually sets its tax rates, but they often include several city and county taxes, a school district tax and a separate mill tax. The entire amount is commonly referred to as a mill levy.